May 19, 2012
As a Spaniard who grew up in the UK, I have a strong connection with the motherland. I go back frequently and hope to buy a flat in the centre of Madrid in the next few years. But not now. Prices have fallen around 25% in Madrid since the peak in 2007 and much more along the coasts. There are nearly a million empty properties in Spain and only around a quarter of a million buyers. Just the opposite of the UK, especially London, where […]
April 6, 2012
Those of us running our property businesses in East London might be forgiven for feeling very frustrated with the recent onslaught of bureaucracy and control freakery. London Borough of Newham has all but introduced compulsory licensing for every privately rented property in the borough. Admittedly it is still undertaking statutory consultation, but this has more than a whiff of the perfunctory about it. Newham’s scheme was unveiled in October 2011 in a fanfare of excitement, seemingly the officials and politicians thought […]
March 26, 2012
I’ve found a property I really like. The figures really stack up and if I could get the funding I could make the deal happen. But there’s just one problem – it has been underpinned. That’s right it doesn’t have subsidence. It did have it, but it’s been sorted out, it’s been underpinned so that’s ok now isn’t it? No! It’s the kiss of death.
Why you might think? Well it’s all down to the great almighty all powerful valuer. If he/she says that […]
March 25, 2012
I had a surprisingly fun sunny Saturday afternoon looking at auction properties this weekend. Subsidence cracks has been the theme of the week. You know what they say, if it’s gone to auction “there must be trouble.”
The first property I saw was a two bed terrace whose garden wall backed onto a cemetery. A young couple and their two children who were living there kindly let me in to have look around. It was extraordinary opening the bathroom window at the rear of the […]
Some lenders are adopting draconian attitudes towards interest only mortgages. Last month, Santander announced that it was cutting the maximum loan to value it will lend on an interest only basis from 75% to 50%. This week, Nationwide and Coventry Building Societies have followed suit, cutting their interest only limits to 50%. New FSA guidance will require greater scrutiny of repayment vehicles such as ISAs and endowments where an interest only mortgage is in place. It is thought […]
